What is Music?
Etymology
The word music
comes from the Greek mousikê
(tekhnê) by way of the Latin musica. It is ultimately derived from mousa,
the Greek word for muse. In ancient Greece, the word mousike
was used to mean any of the arts or sciences governed by the Muses.
mid-13c., musike, from Old French musique
(12c.) and directly from Latin musica "the art
of music," also including poetry (also source of Spanish musica, Italian musica, Old
High German mosica, German Musik,
Dutch muziek, Danish musik),
from Greek mousike (techne) "(art) of the
Muses," from fem. of mousikos "pertaining
to the Muses," from Mousa "Muse" (see
muse (n.)).
late 14c., protectors of the
arts, from Old French Muse and directly from Latin Musa, from Greek Mousa,
"the Muse," also "music, song," from PIE root *men- "to think, remember" (see mind (n.))
Music 1
a : the science or art of ordering tones or sounds
in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a
composition having unity and continuity
b : vocal, instrumental, or mechanical sounds
having rhythm, melody, or harmony
1. The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a
continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony,
rhythm, and timbre.
2. Vocal or instrumental sounds possessing a degree of
melody, harmony, or rhythm.
Psalm 143:5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse
on the work of thy hands.
Luke 3:15 And as the
people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts…
Considering
this question... what exactly is music? For example: an arrangement of notes,
into a melody. Why are certain notes arranged certain ways? They are expressing
something. Certain people arrange certain notes a certain way because something
inspires them to do so. (Is any merry let him sing psalms.) Love inspires music
which sounds loving, anger inspires music which sounds angry, revelry inspires
music which sounds wild and untempered. Fear inspires music which sounds eerie.
They write music for movies to express the emotion the scene of the movie
displays. Music then is the sound of these emotions being expressed. For
example Jeremiah 48:36,38 "mine heart shall sound for Moab like
pipes" This was his "lamentation" for them. It was the SOUND of
his heart. Again Jer.4:19 "My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very
heart; my heart maketh a noise in me" It was the SOUND of his heart. Music
then is the sound of someone's heart. James said "Is any merry? let him
sing psalms." 5:13 The psalms sung should express the joy in ones heart.
Ezekiel 28:13 says concerning Lucifer "the workmanship of thy tabrets and
of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created" His
heart sounded like pipes and tabrets. Again Isaiah 16:11 "my bowels shall
sound LIKE AN HARP for Moab, and mine inward parts..." His spirit and
heart made a noise which sounded like a harp! Music is the sound of someone's
spirit and heart, spiritual music. Now a Christian who has a pure, new heart,
will not not sound like a child of the devil whose heart is deceitful, and
filthy. Jesus said "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth
forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart
bringeth forth evil things." Matt.12:35 Therefore psalms hymns and
spiritual songs (Eph.5:19, Col.3:16) will sound like the fruit of the Spirit
(Gal.5:22-3) Joyful, loving, peaceful, gentle, good, meek, and temperate music.
(Should be sung with the spirit of the grace of God; music communicates, it
speaks -And even things without life
giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the
sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? 1 Cor.14:7. Making
[creating and recreating] melody coupled with grace in your hearts. Noted by
melody more than rhythm, and spirit over soul or body. Eph.5:19, Col.3:16) This
is what Christian music will sound like. Not like the world will write. They
express music which sounds like the works of the flesh- anger, wrath, malice,
reveling, riotous, excessive, hatred, chaotic, proud, arrogant, lustful, self
pity, complaining whiny music. This wouldn't provide us with a way to decipher all pieces of music but a foundation to start with. By their
fruits ye shall know them (Matt.7:17-20). Look at the majority of people who
enjoy these styles of music and consider their devotion to the Living God. Why then should a Christian copy the worlds style
of music? God hates the world (James 4:4) and the whole thing lieth in
wickedness (1 JN 5:19). Christ was crucified to bear the sin of the world.
Surely their songs should not be in our hearts. This is not acceptable to God.
We worship God in the spirit (Jn 4:24, Phil.3:3) we sing with grace in our
hearts to the Lord. These are spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus
Christ.
Consider the following passage of scripture concerning the effect of music
upon you. 1
Samuel 16:14-23,Notice, an evil spirit troubled Saul (v14),
they sent for David because he could play
cunningly upon a harp (v16). They understood that the LORD was with
David (v18), and when he played well, the evil spirit would leave Saul. So
David played the harp (music), this effected Saul to bring a refreshing to
him (v23)! When he was refreshed the evil spirit would leave !
Now, if certain types of music refresh people so they can resist evil spirits,
is it not at least plausible
to think that maybe some music puts people into a spiritual position to receive evil spirits !
Voodoo practitioners think so, they call themselves 'spirit eaters' or they try to get possessed with the help of syncopated rhythms. (Here are 5 notes originally carried by slaves from Africa to the Caribbean hundreds of years ago, these five notes have become part of the DNA of modern music – influencing everything from soul and cuban music, to afrobeat and rock and roll.)
This
being the case- that music is the sound of the heart- it seems absurd to think that an unsaved person whose heart is
desperately wicked and under the influence of wicked spirits (Eph.2:2-3) would create a song that a Christian, who has a new heart
indwelt by the Spirit of the living God, would worship God with. What communion
hath light with darkness (2 Cor.6:14-18)?
Wherefore
the rather, Christian music would sound like the fruit of the Spirit and an
unbelievers music would be riotous, revelling, angry, wrathful, lascivious,
depressing, self indulgent and the such like.
Only
those willingly ignorant would disagree that Christian and unchristian music
would sound the same. Most "Christian Rock artists" for example, learned their
craft while in the world or from the world or those who were.
This article (a church member sent this to me to review once), while bringing up some
interesting questions, fails to ask the very basic of questions. As Christians
we are told to prove all things; hold fast to that which is good; and search the scriptures daily whether these things are
so. And again the simple believeth every word; but the prudent man looketh well
to his going. The wisdom of the prudent man is to understand his way. Let our
hearts search the scriptures and have the
scriptures search our hearts.
Time and again the writer points
out that there is a wide range of music used in the churches:
“What forms of music does the Assemblies of God use in its worship services? Are certain kinds or
styles of music favored?”“The Assemblies of God encourages and practices a wide variety of music for worship and ministry to the Lord. Hymns, anthems, gospel songs, Scripture choruses, children’s songs, and contemporary Christian music—all find a place in our church Fellowship. Various keyboard, woodwind, brass, string, and percussion instruments are also heard in many of our worship services. Because no two local church congregations are alike, neither are their music preferences.”
While this is informative as to
what the AOG churches do use, it is not informative as to
what the churches should use. This is what the child of God should ask; not what do we do but
what ought we to do? Or why do we do this instead of that?
The writer continues “What we must all come to
understand is that one’s choice of music is based on personal tastes typically
developed during the formative adolescent years. Thus all generations, secular
or Christian, will generally acquire differing musical preferences based on
unique culture and adolescent experiences.”Again the question begs to be asked ‘Should our musical preferences be based on culture and adolescent experiences? Should we be conformed to this world?’ Let us begin our inquiry by asking ‘What is music?’ Now the textbook answer will be something like “Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm; the arrangement of notes into a specific order to express certain things”. We must not settle for such an answer; for we are to “look well to our going”. Why are certain notes arranged in certain orders? It is not enough to be content with the explanation that sentences are letters in a certain order; why are some letters arranged to express evil while other letters are arranged to express good?
It seems that the bible at
least implicitly teaches if not directly, that music is the sound created by
our hearts (Isa.16:11, Jer.48:36, 4:19, Ezk.28:13, Job 30:31, 29:13, Eph.5:19,
Col.3:16). We create and use instruments to express these 'thoughts without words' or melodies. This would shed
lots of light on the choice of instrument (harps- the instrument of heaven Rv.5:8, 14:2, 15:2, viols, violins, violas, pipes
etc.). The type of instrument would more closely express the sound of the
heart. For example Jeremiah 48:36,38 "mine heart shall sound for Moab like
pipes" This was his "lamentation" for them. It was the
SOUND of his heart. Again Jer.4:19 "My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at
my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me" It was the SOUND of his
heart. Music then is the sound of someone's heart. James said "Is any
merry? let him sing psalms." 5:13. The psalms sung should express the joy
in ones heart. We are told to sing psalms, hymns
and spiritual songs.
Ezekiel 28:13 says concerning Lucifer "the workmanship of thy tabrets and
of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created" His
heart sounded like pipes and tabrets. Again Isaiah 16:11 "my bowels shall
sound LIKE AN HARP for Moab, and mine inward parts..." His spirit and
heart made a noise which sounded like a harp! Music is the sound of someone's
spirit and heart; music is spiritual in its essence and therefore not neutral.
This is without any words; the music alone is of a spiritual nature.
It should also be pointed out
regarding the knowledge of the effects of music that Lucifer would be well
acquainted with; let us be sober and vigilant at this point. Pay special
attention to the fact that the tabrets are mentioned in reference to Lucifer.
Tabrets are rhythmic instruments (Nah.2:7) Pay special attention to the rhythm or the beat of music. People dance to the beat; ever noticed how people
dance to certain beats? You should.This revelation of what music is from the scripture dissolves the doubts related to much inquiry surrounding the topic. It does not directly answer every question about every piece of music but puts our feet upon a solid rock. Here are a few things that immediately disappear in the light of this revelation:
- This being the case it seems absurd to think
that an unsaved person whose heart is desperately wicked would create a
song that a Christian, who has a new heart indwelt by the Spirit of the living
God, would worship God with. What communion hath light with darkness? A
lost man has the spirit of the devil working in his heart –Eph.2:2.
- Now a Christian, who has a pure, new heart,
will not sound like a child of the devil whose heart is deceitful, and
filthy. Jesus said "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart
bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure of
his heart bringeth forth evil things." Matt.12:35
- Therefore psalms hymns and spiritual songs
(Eph.5:19, Col.3:16) will sound like the fruit of the Spirit
(Gal.5:22-3) Joyful, loving, peaceful, gentle, good, meek, and temperate
music. This is what Christian music will sound like. Not like the world will
write. They express music which sounds like the works of the flesh- anger,
wrath, malice, reveling, riotous, excessive, hatred, chaotic, proud,
arrogant, lustful, self pity, complaining whiny music, and the such like.
Be not conformed to this world.
There is much more to be spoken
about the topic.
Certain music styles probably came to mind as falling into certain categories of the fruit of the Spirit and certain ones reminded you of the
works of the flesh. Let every man examine his heart here with the scripture.
The writer of the article expresses this thought” Like most conflicts affecting the church, the need
is for balance. Overemphasis on any one area provides an unhealthy diet.
Balance means traditional and contemporary, choruses and hymns, slow and fast,
new and old, piano and sound track, accordion and synthesizer, great musicians
and mediocre, and song leader and worship team. All have a place in worship to
our Lord”
Again the Christian should be exhorted to examine any rule or measure by the
scriptures; according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed.
Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly
fear: For our God is a consuming fire. Our music as
our hearts should be holy as God is holy.
In
scripture the Christian is instructed to sing as an expression of joy -James
5:13 Is any among you
afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
Even
God himself will “joy over thee with singing” (Zep.3:17). Singing is
directed linked to joy and gladness and not other emotions such as anger or sorrow
(Prv.25:20). Even at the time of Jacob singing was an expression of joy- Genesis
31:27 Wherefore didst
thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I
might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?
Exodus
15:1-2 Then sang
Moses and the children of Israel this song
unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing
unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously:
the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will
prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him. (v21) And
Miriam answered them, Sing ye to
the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the
horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
And
we see them unable to sing when led captive:
Psalm
137:3-4 For there they that carried us away captive required
of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing
us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange
land?
Proverbs
25:20 As he that
taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that
singeth songs to an heavy heart.
Singing
an expression of joy and gladness:
1 Samuel
18:6 And it came to pass as they came, when David
was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of
all cities of Israel, singing
and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick.
1
Chronicles 15:16 And David spake to the chief of the Levites
to appoint their brethren to be the singers
with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by
lifting up the voice with joy.
Job 29:13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came
upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
Psalm
27:6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above
mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle
sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.
Psalm
28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in
him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
Psalm
65:13 The pastures are clothed with flocks; the
valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.
Psalm
67:4 O let the
nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people
righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
Psalm
81:1 Sing aloud unto
God our strength: make a joyful
noise unto the God of Jacob.
Psalm
95:1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord:
let us make a joyful noise to
the rock of our salvation.
Psalm
98:4 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice,
and sing praise.
Psalm
149:5 Let the saints
be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
Isaiah
16:10 And gladness is
taken away, and joy out of the
plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread
out no wine in their presses; I have
made their vintage shouting to cease.
Isaiah
30:29 Ye shall have a
song, as in the night when a
holy solemnity is kept; and gladness
of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel.
Isaiah
35:2 It shall blossom
abundantly, and rejoice even with joy
and singing: the glory of
Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall
see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of
our God. (v10) And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their
heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Isaiah
49:13 Sing, O
heavens; and be joyful, O earth;
and break forth into singing, O
mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his
people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
Isaiah
51:11 Therefore the
redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they
shall obtain gladness and joy;
and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
Isaiah
52:9 Break forth into
joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed
Jerusalem.
Isaiah
55:12 For ye shall go
out with joy, and be led forth
with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the
field shall clap their hands.
Isaiah
65:14 Behold, my
servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for
sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.
Jeremiah
31:7 For thus saith
the Lord; Sing
with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye,
praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the
remnant of Israel.
Zephaniah
3:17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will
save, he will rejoice over thee with joy;
he will rest in his love, he will joy
over thee with singing.
Zechariah
2:10 Sing and
rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of
thee, saith the Lord.
2 Chronicles 29:30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded
the Levites to sing praise unto
the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph
the seer. And they sang praises with gladness,
and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
2 Chronicles 30:21 And the children of Israel that were present at
Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the
priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the
Lord.
Nehemiah 12:27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they
sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep
the dedication with gladness,
both with thanksgivings, and with singing,
with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.
Psalm 9:2 I will be glad
and rejoice in thee: I will sing
praise to thy name, O thou most High.
Psalm 100:2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence
with singing.
Psalm
126:2 Then was our
mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.
Proverbs 29:6 In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare:
but the righteous doth sing and
rejoice.
Here is an article I came across about Jazz music, sure to incite some minds. It was written by Anne Shaw Faulkner in the 20's. She was writing for some ladies journal.
"We have all
been taught to believe that "music soothes the savage breast," but we
have never stopped to consider that an entirely different type of music might
invoke savage instincts. We have been content to accept all kinds of music, and
to admit music in all its phases into our homes, simply because it was music.
It is true that frequently father and mother have preferred some old favorite
song or dance, or some aria from opera, to the last "best seller"
which has found its way into the home circle; but, after all, young people must
be entertained and amused, and even if the old-fashioned parents did not enjoy
the dance music of the day, they felt it could really do no harm, because it
was music.
Therefore, it is somewhat of a rude awakening for many of these
parents to find that America is facing a most serious situation regarding its
popular music. Welfare workers tell us that never in the history of our land
have there been such immoral conditions among our young people, and in the
surveys made by many organizations regarding these conditions, the blame is
laid on jazz music and its evil influence on the young people of to-day. Never
before have such outrageous dances been permitted in private as well as public
ballrooms, and never has there been used for the accompaniment of the dance
such a strange combination of tone and rhythm as that produced by the dance
orchestras of to-day. Certainly, if this music is in any way responsible for the condition and for the immoral acts which can be traced to the influence of these dances, then it is high time that the question should be raised: "Can music ever be an influence for evil?" "In history there have been several great periods when music was declared to be an evil influence, and certain restrictions were placed upon the dance and the music which accompanied it. But all of these restrictions were made by the clergy, who have never been particularly enthusiastic about dancing anyway. To-day, however, the first great rebellion against jazz music and such dances as the "toddle" and the "shimmy" comes from the dancing masters themselves. Realizing the evil influence of this type of music and dancing, the National Dancing Masters' Association, at their last session, adopted this rule: "Don't permit vulgar cheap jazz music to be played. Such music almost forces dancers to use jerky half-steps, and invites immoral variations. It is useless to expect to find refined dancing when the music lacks all refinement, for, after all, what is dancing but an interpretation of music?"
Several of the large dance halls in the big cities are following the lead of the proprietor of one of them in Chicago, who, when he opened his establishment a few years ago, bravely advertised that no jazz music and no immoral dances would be allowed on his floor. His announcement was met with ridicule, but his dance hall has become the most popular one in Chicago. The place is crowded every evening, and yet nothing except waltzes and two-steps are allowed on the floor and absolutely no jazz music is tolerated.
That jazz is an influence for evil is also felt by a number of the biggest country clubs, which have forbidden the corset check room, the leaving of the hall between dances and the jazz orchestras--three evils which have also been eliminated fropm many municipal dance halls, particularly when these have been taken under the chaperonage of the Women's Clubs.
Still another proof that jazz is recognized as producing an evil effect is the fact that in almost every big industry where music has been instituted it has been found necessary to discontinue jazz because of its demoralizing effect upon the workers. This was noticed in an unsteadiness and lack of evenness in the workmanship of the product after a period when the workmen had indulged in jazz music......."Jazz is not defined in the dictionary or encyclopedia. But Groves' Dictionary of Music says that "ragtime is a modern term of American origin, signifying in the first instance broken rhythm and melody, especially a sort of continuous syncopation." The Encyclopedia Britannica sums up syncopation as "the rhythmic method of tying two beats of the same note into one tone in such a way as to displace the accent." Syncopation, this curious rhythmic accent on the short beat, is found in its most highly developed forms in the music of the folk who have been held for years in political subjection. For the same reason it was the natural expression of the American Negroes and was used by them as the accompaniment for their bizarre dances and cakewalks. Negro ragtime, it must be frankly acknowledged, is one of the most important and distinctively characteristic American expressions to be found in our native music. Whether ragtime will be the cornerstone of the American School of Music may be a subject for discussion; but the fact remains that many of the greatest compositions by past and present American composers have been influenced by ragtime. Like all other phases of syncopation, ragtime quickens the pulse, it excites, it stimulates;
What of jazz? It is hard to define jazz, because it is neither a definite form nor a type of rhythm; it is rather a method employed by the interpreter in playing the dance or song. Familiar hymn tunes can be jazzed until their original melodies are hardly recognizable. Jazz does for harmony what the accented syncopation of ragtime does for rhythm. In ragtime the rhythm is thrown out of joint, as it were, thus distorting the melody; in jazz exactly the same thing is done to the harmony. The melodic line is disjointed and disconnected by the accenting of the partial instead of the simple tone, and the same effect is produced on the melody and harmony which is noticed in syncopated rhythm. The combination of syncopation and the use of these inharmonic partial tones produces a strange, weird effect, which has been designated "jazz." Jazz originally was the accompaniment of the voodoo dancer, stimulating the half-crazed barbarian to the vilest deeds. The weird chant, accompanied by the syncopated rhythm of the voodoo invokers, has also been employed by other barbaric people to stimulate brutality and sensuality. That it has a demoralizing effect upon the human brain has been demonstrated by many scientists. The human organism responds to musical vibrations. This fact is universally recognized. What instincts then are aroused by jazz? Certainly not deeds of valor or martial courage, for all marches and patriotic hymns are of regular rhythm and simple harmony; decidedly not contentment or serenity, for the songs of home and the love of native land are all of the simplest melody and harmony with noticeably regular rhythm. Jazz disorganizes all regular laws and order; it stimulates to extreme deeds, to a breaking away from all rules and conventions; it is harmful and dangerous, and its influence is wholly bad. A number of scientific men who have been working on experiments in musico-therapy with the insane, declare that while regular rhythms and simple tones produce a quieting effect on the brain of even a violent patient, the effect of jazz on the normal brain produces an atrophied condition on the brain cells of conception, until very frequently those under the demoralizing influence of the persistent use of syncopation, combined with inharmonic partial tones, are actually incapable of distinguishing between good and evil, right and wrong. The jazz orchestra uses only those instruments which can produce partial, inharmonic tones more readily than simple tones--such as the saxophone, the clarinet and the trombone, which share honors with the percussion instruments that accent syncopated rhythm. The combination of the syncopated rhythm, accentuated by the constant use of the partial tones sounding off-pitch, has put syncopation too off-key. Thus the three simple elements of music--rhythm, melody and harmony--have been put out of tune with each other. With this evil influence surrounding our coming generation, it is not to be wondered at that degeneracy should be developing so rapidly in America. In a recent letter to the author, Dr. Henry van Dyke says of jazz: "As I understand it, it is not music at all. It is merely an irritation of the nerves of hearing, a sensual teasing of the strings of physical passion. Its fault lies not in syncopation, for that is a legitimate device when sparingly used. But 'jazz' is an unmitigated cacophony, a combination of disagreeable sounds in complicated discords, a willful ugliness and a deliberate vulgarity."
Here are some examples of dancing to Jazz/ Swing music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHANNkKBSNU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpeUnWrteQM
In contrast to this where the rhythms demands different movement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs2j8f7H2WY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T82TtGVjLnw
You might find this of interest in light of where current 'dancing' (e.g. twerking) has devolved.
Written around 1916 regarding the immorality associated with dancing:
http://www.libraryofdance.org/manuals/1919-Faulkner-The_Lure_of_the_Dance_(Goog).pdf
(The Lure of the Dance T.A. Faulkner) Sure to be dismissed as puritanical and prude; but may interest you.
